New system in Rotterdam to simplify box exchange at Maasvlakte
TERMINALS APMT, ECT and RWG at the Port of Rotterdam have reached agreements with customs to end the practice of requiring a physical customs document to transfer containers from one Maasvlakte terminal to another from July 1.
This paperless transfer will reduce the administrative workload for shipping lines, simplifying the exchange of containers between terminals.
The new agreements made by the Association of Rotterdam Shipbrokers and Agents (VRC), ECT, APMT and RWG, the customs and the Port of Rotterdam take advantage of new European rules that allows containers to be transferred between terminals without further paper.
The parties involved in the initiative will start with the paperless transfer of transshipment containers. In due time, they expect to be able to expand this procedure to the bundling of rail and inland shipping volumes.
Said VRC chairman Kees Groeneveld: “It's an important step that allows us to keep Rotterdam costs low in light of the competition we face in the Hamburg-Le Havre range."
Said Port of Rotterdam CEO Allard Castelein: “The next step will be the construction of the Container Exchange Route, which allows for the transport of containers between terminals via a closed system.
"According to our planning, this project will be rounded off within two years."
TERMINALS APMT, ECT and RWG at the Port of Rotterdam have reached agreements with customs to end the practice of requiring a physical customs document to transfer containers from one Maasvlakte terminal to another from July 1.
This paperless transfer will reduce the administrative workload for shipping lines, simplifying the exchange of containers between terminals.
The new agreements made by the Association of Rotterdam Shipbrokers and Agents (VRC), ECT, APMT and RWG, the customs and the Port of Rotterdam take advantage of new European rules that allows containers to be transferred between terminals without further paper.
The parties involved in the initiative will start with the paperless transfer of transshipment containers. In due time, they expect to be able to expand this procedure to the bundling of rail and inland shipping volumes.
Said VRC chairman Kees Groeneveld: “It's an important step that allows us to keep Rotterdam costs low in light of the competition we face in the Hamburg-Le Havre range."
Said Port of Rotterdam CEO Allard Castelein: “The next step will be the construction of the Container Exchange Route, which allows for the transport of containers between terminals via a closed system.
"According to our planning, this project will be rounded off within two years."